Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pared losses

on Wednesday after a softer-than-expected private payrolls

report for December eased some worries that the Federal Reserve

will be cautious in cutting interest rates this year.

The ADP National Employment report showed the U.S. economy

added 122,000 jobs in the private sector last month, compared

with economists' estimate of a rise of 140,000.

At 8:17 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis

slipped 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis dropped 0.2%.